SACRAMENTO – Today all state Senate Republicans voted for Assembly Bill 403 (R-Melendez), the Legislative Employee Whistleblower Protection Act. All 13 members also co-authored the bill, which will extend to legislative employees the same protections state workers already receive under the California Whistleblower Protection Act.

(Sacramento) – Today, Senator Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) presented Senate Resolution 88, which requests that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) correct a mistake from 40 years ago and rightfully award dozens of women swimmers the recognition and medals that they deserved, had they not been cheated by the East German team, who used performance-enhancing substances. Senate Resolution 88 passed with a 39-0 vote.

The 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada, should have been a monumental and celebratory occasion for Shirley Babashoff and the dozens of other female swimmers who competed. Instead, the games have lived under a dark cloud of controversy for the past forty years. Continue reading→

SACRAMENTO – As the 2016 Summer Olympics are set to begin, Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar) announced the introduction of House Resolution 58, which calls on the US Soccer Federation to end wage disparities between its women and men players. The United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) — the most successful women’s soccer team in the world — continue to receive unfair compensation despite increased revenue generation and historic victories. Leading members of the women’s team have filed a lawsuit against the US Federation and embarked on a campaign to raise awareness for “equal play for equal pay.”

“For the US women’s team, equal play does not mean equal pay,” said Assemblywoman Chang “What kind of message does that send to aspiring, young female soccer players?” Continue reading→

The last GOP debate before Super Tuesday is in the can. Co-hosted by CNN and Telemundo, it was viewed by 14.5 million people on Thursday evening. The debate crystallized that this is now essentially a three-person show: Donald Trump, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Marco Rubio. And things really got hot, as the gloves came off.

It was painfully clear (to me, anyway) that Trump exposed himself as being all temperament and style, and not very much substance. But given the distrust and discontent of much of the GOP primary electorate, I’ll be interested to see if Trump’s inability to get into specifics causes him more trouble than his decades of ideological inconsistency. Continue reading→

California to be First State in the Nation to Prohibit Employers from Seeking Prior Salary History AB 1676 (Campos)

Sacramento, CA – On the 7th Anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, California is poised to do even more to eliminate the gender pay gap. Assembly Bill 1676 authored by Assemblymember Nora Campos (D-27), would prohibit employers from asking prospective employees for their salary history.

At first glance, it may not be obvious why asking about a job applicant’s prior salary history is sex discrimination. It wasn’t in the too distant past that it was not recognized as a problem to ask about a woman’s marital status or plans to have children but now those questions are universally recognized as basis for discrimination. Specifically for the issue prior salary history, the idea to base a new wage on the old, possibility discriminatory wage, simply perpetuates the discrimination. Instead a woman should be judged on her qualifications for the position. Continue reading→

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA-46), the second ranked Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee and the founder and chair of the Women in the Military Caucus, released the following statement after Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced that all positions in the U.S. military will be open to men and women alike.